Temptation
by Hellen says what's up
Summary: After L is struck by a heart attack, he's almost certain that he's about to die…and Kira was about to win…but then, something strange happens. A demon stands before him, and offers him his life back…in return for his soul. "So, Lawliet, do we have a deal?" No ships.
1. Raven

**Temptation**

**After L is struck by a heart attack, he's almost certain that he's about to die…and Kira was about to win…but then, something strange happens. A demon stands before him, and offers him his life back…in return for his soul. "So, Lawliet, do we have a deal?"**

"Everyone, the shiniga-" suddenly, L felt his own flesh and blood turn cold, as his heart came to an unwilling halt. It was as though everything was simply draining away. Breath turned to dust in his lungs and his mind just seemed to stop. He felt his whole body loose its power as he fell from the side of his chair.

He could no longer hear the screaming of the Task Force Members. All he heard was muffled cries and panic. Light Yagami reached out to catch his body before his head collided with the marble floor beneath him.

And right then…right then, he saw it. That smirk of victory. That leer of vicious success. All he saw in the young man's eyes was pure evil from the depths of Hell. Light was Kira. Light had won. _I knew it…I knew I wasn't wrong…but I…_

He felt his eyelids close into a dark and lonely abyss. His blood stopped running. His mind stopped thinking. His ears stopped hearing. His eyes stopped seeing. His heart stopped beating.

_But…I lost…_

* * *

L felt his body become weightless as he stared out into oblivion…nothing but darkness…a vortex of loneliness. "So…this is what dying feels like." It felt like nothing…like a lucid dream of space, set hundreds of miles away from earth…floating…with nothing left to loose. It was rather frightening, though at the same time, it felt comfortable. "It's a wonder how I ended up here. I've been so blind…blinded by what, false hope? No. Hope is merely a masquerade for the weak. Even I'm not that senseless…and I'm not senseless. I know I'm not…I'm L. I'm the man who died fighting for justice. My death shall not be in vain. I am L Lawliet, special detective, almost undefeated. I am justice."

"_That you are." _A voice echoed in the back of his mind. L turned around to see nothing but darkness…however; the voice went on in his head, like a blind conscience. _"You are L Lawliet, the greatest detective this world has and will ever know. I've been watching. You are a rather fascinating man, I must say."_

"I suppose I should have seen this coming." L sighed. "Just what exactly are you? Where are you? Are you some sort of spirit in my mind?"

L heard the voice laugh a dry and joyless laugh. _"Not exactly, no. I am neither an angel, nor a devil. I am not considered good, or bad. I am a demon." _L thought for a moment, though, said nothing of it. _"You don't seem so surprised."_

"I've come face to face with a shinigami, Mr Demon." L smiled innocently enough. "Nothing surprises me these days." At that moment, L saw a single streak of light run down the hall of darkness. Within the streak, stood a tall man with coal-black hair and skin as pale as paper. He wore a suit of pure black and white gloves that covered long slender fingers. His eyes were a magnificent gleaming red which was practically the only colour that lit up the atmosphere.

Once again, the demon let out a haunting laugh that sent shivers down L's spine. _"Fine, I'll get right to it then. My name is Raven; I come from a world known as 'the place of immortal souls', or 'the Demon realm', as it was. My purpose in life is to collect worthy souls, and frankly, I've become rather interested in yours."_

"…I see. And what is it exactly that separates my soul from others?" L asked.

"_My, my, you're a curious one I see." _Raven let out a chuckle similar to one of a shinigami. _"Your soul radiates strength and courage that is usually lacking within humans. I'd sure love to get my hands on a soul like yours…" _

"Then why don't you just take it?" L asked simply. "I'm already dead. I have no use for it."

"_Ah, but you see, that's why I'm here." _L saw Raven's sharp white teeth as he gave a large grin. _"In order for me to take your soul, I must send you back to the human world. In other words, if you give me your soul, I'll give you back your remaining lifespan."_

L took a step away from the demon, only to feel as though he were getting closer. "I would be without a soul in the human world. What shall happen if I refuse?"

"…_You'll stay here, and drift off into the darkness for eternity. There will be no running. There will be no light. It's simply darkness."_

L thought for a moment. It was obvious that this demon wasn't trustworthy. The way he talked with such maliciousness…then again, he was a demon after all…the thought of going back to earth without his soul was rather haunting…though, if he were to return now, it would mean he could continue to hunt for Kira…and that's all he really wanted.

"_Oh, one last thing." _Raven hummed, holding up a sharp pointed finger at L. _"I am to be by your side until the day you die. This is how it works. A demon takes a human's soul and sends the human back to their life. The demon must then stay with the human until said human dies. The demon can then leave and return to the realm."_

"No one besides me will be able to see you?" L asked. The demon nodded. "You're rather similar to shinigami then."

"_Don't compare our race with those…things. They're savages. Gods of death and disease…despicable life forms." _ Raven uttered bitterly. L smiled and scratched the back of his neck. The demon cocked his head to the left and smiled. He extended his left hand and whispered, _"So, Lawliet, do we have a deal?"_

L stared at the hand hesitantly; before he disregarded every morel he knew and took the hand.

"_You may feel a slight searing pain."_

* * *

_The heart shall beat without a true pulse, the brain shall think without true thoughts, the bones will move without a purpose, the eyes will see without seeing anything at all, the ears will hear only what is known, the skin will feel without the will to, the mind will wonder only to wonder back…_

_L Lawliet, your soul belongs to me…_

_And until you die, I guess I belong to you_

* * *

"I'm afraid Mr Watari has passed away. I'm sorry for your loss." The doctor spoke with an even tone as he handed each of the Task Force members a form which stated the cause and time of death.

Aizawa shook his head. "He was…a good man."

"What about Ryuzaki?!" Matsuda demanded to know, standing from his seat in the hospital waiting room.

"Oh, he's still out cold, but he's breathing." The doctor said, adjusting his glasses. "He should be fine. Hopefully he will be fully recovered by the end of this week."

Light's eyes widened. _Wait, what?! But…Rem killed him! He should be long dead by now! How can this be? It's impossible…though…I never found Rem's notebook, so I couldn't check whether or not she'd actually killed him…damn it! It's not over yet…_

"Your friend's a lucky guy. He survived a fatal heart attack that could have very well taken his life. His heart's pretty strong for an average man." The doctor explained.

"Well…that's a relief." Aizawa sighed. "At least we've still got Ryuzaki."

"That was way to close." Matsuda sighed, sitting back down in one of the chairs.

"We need to be more careful." Light warned. "I don't know if that was Kira or not, but if it was, we really need to start taking things seriously."

"I doubt it was Kira." Mogi stated. "If it was, then Ryuzaki would be dead for sure."

"It'd be interesting to see if it actually was Kira." Soichiro commented. "That would mean L somehow managed to survive Kira's wrath."

Light shook his head. "…I feel bad for Watari. He was no more than a man caught up in the Kira case…it's not right when innocent people like that have to suffer the rage of Kira. Damn it…"

"…Hey, don't worry Light. He didn't die in vain." Matsuda comforted. "Oh god, I can't imagine how Ryuzaki's going to act when he finds out."

* * *

L woke up to the sound of a beeping heart monitor. His head was spinning and he felt as though he was going to pass out again. The lights in the hospital room shone bright in his eyes. It took a while for him to adjust. The darkness had been a little more comfortable. _"You're finally awake."_

L turned his head to the left to see Raven, now in plain sight. His eyes were a dark blood-red colour and his hair black hair was like the feathers of a bird…the feathers of a raven. Aside from his eyes, hair and shark-like teeth, Raven was surprisingly humanlike. He wore a silver chain around his neck which hung a golden symbol which was shaped like an eye. "You really are a demon…"

Raven smirked at L's blankness. At that moment, L noticed a familiar black book sitting upon the bedside. L's eyes widened. "Isn't that…"

"_Rem's death note. I found it before I claimed your soul." _Raven uttered. _"Since demons aren't exactly permitted to keep a shinigami's death note, I'm giving it to you." _L picked up Rem's book. Curiously, he flipped to the last page that had writing on it. Just as he suspected. _'Quillsh Wammy' _and _'L Lawliet'_ were both written in chunky bold writing at the very top of the page. L closed his eyes and placed it behind his pillow. _Watari…I'm sorry…_

"_How does being alive again feel?" _Raven asked wickedly.

L stared up at the demon who stood by his bedside. "I'm not sure. I don't feel like I've really returned. I almost feel non-existent." L frowned.

"_That's normal." _Raven stated, smiling his purl-white teeth at the detective.

"I'm not sure I like it…it's almost as if I'm just a thing. I feel kind of nauseous…I hope it doesn't last too long. I can't be expected to catch Kira under these conditions."

"Oh, Sir, you're awake." A nurse stepped into the private hospital room. "Um…who are you talking to?"

"Myself." L said simply.

The nurse stared at the young patient with a little concern. "Oh…okay. Sir, you just recovered from a heart attack. I think you should go back to sleep."

"I will in my own time Miss." L uttered. "I need a moment to think."

**To be continued (if it works out well)**

**Comments are lovely!**


	2. Rebirth sucks

Temptation 2

**Okay, this chapter isn't that good, so I wouldn't be surprised if you stopped reading here**

_If I can't find Rem's notebook, then there's no way I'll be able to kill L. _Light stared blankly at his coffee cup that sat on the table in front of him. The rest of the Task Force were too busy chatting and celebrating Ryuzaki's survival to notice his silence. Light furrowed his brow with frustration. _Damn…something must have happened when L was dying…but what? It makes no sense…is he immune to the death note somehow? That's impossible. No one can escape the fate once it's been written. Is it possible that L died, but then came back to life? Well…Ryuk's with Misa at the moment, so I won't be able to ask him any questions._

_Wait a second…Misa! I just need Misa to write L's name in the death note again! There's no way L could escape death twice…right? _"Light, are you feeling okay? You don't look so good." Soichiro put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"I'm fine dad. Don't worry…I guess I'm still a little woozy over this whole situation." Light laughed. "You have to admit, it was a little terrifying to see L so close to death. I could have sworn he wasn't going to make it…thank god he's okay."

"Yeah, I can't imagine what it'd be like for Ryuzaki to pass away." Matsuda sighed.

Meanwhile, as the task force continued to talk in the hospital waiting room, Raven glimpsed around the corner of the doorway, curiously watching the group with his sharp red eyes. _Well, L sure does live up to his reputation…let me see. Light Yagami...Soichiro Yagami…Shuichi Aizawa…Kanzo Mogi…Touta Matsuda…Hideki Ide. Well…they certainly don't look like much. Their souls don't appear to be anything special. Simple souls of natural human beings…love, hope, compassion, hate, desire, envy, etcetera…_

Raven narrowed his eyes at the youngest member of the Task Force, Light Yagami. _Strange…his soul radiates a raw taste for power and justice…it's almost overwhelming. How odd…_

"Hey guys, I think I'm going to call Misa over, if that's okay with everyone." Light said as he pulled his phone from his inside shirt pocket.

* * *

"_I think it's time you stopped talking to me. People are starting to think you're crazy." _Raven stated, leaning against the wall next to L's bedside.

"They can think what they like. Why should I care?" L uttered half-heartedly. "It's not like it means anything." L stared up at the sealing, letting his mind go blank. Dying had done something to him, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Ever since he woke up, he hadn't seen much colour in anything.

Suddenly, the door was swung open, and in burst Matsuda wearing a ridiculous pointed paper party hat. "Hey, Ryuzaki, you're all better!" he exclaimed.

The group stood around L's hospital bed with looks of contentment. "Well, not quite, but it's getting there." L muttered under his breath.

"You're looking pretty good for a man who almost died." Aizawa joked.

At that moment, L shot an unexpected glare at Light, who, as usual, was playing along with the situation. "Actually, Aizawa, I didn't _almost_ die. I did." The room went into utter silence. L could hear Raven cackling his lingering chuckle behind him.

"What do you mean, you died?" Matsuda asked, pulling the hat from his head.

"I mean, my heart stopped beating…and I stopped breathing." L put it plainly. "I saw darkness…I was simply brought back to life."

"…How is that even possible?" Soichiro asked.

L sat in silence for a moment, before he smiled and shook his head. The Task Force stared at the man in confusion.

"I guess it's just one of the world's great mysteries." Light laughed. L narrowed his eyes at the grinning man, though he said nothing of it. He wasn't in the mood to fight back…though, inside, he knew Light was playing with him. _Light Yagami, don't pretend to show innocence. I know now…I saw it in your eyes…_

"Everyone, Misa's here!" Matsuda exclaimed. L tilted his head as the tall perky blonde walked in through the door, a big smile on her face.

"Hi guys!" she exclaimed. Light took her by the arm and smiled.

"Misa, what took you so long?" he asked.

"Oh, just traffic and stuff." She said lackadaisically. _Misa…remember what I told you? Just get his name, that's all I ask of you!_

"It's been a while, Amane." L stated with a small turn up of the lips. "I haven't seen you since Higuchi's arrest."

Misa smiled and looked over at L…when something odd happened. Her face went rather blank with confusion. She seemed to lose her words. Light shot her a curious look. _Ryuzaki's name…I can't see it. And…his lifespan's gone down to zero...what is this?_

"Is something the matter, Amane?" L asked.

"No, no I'm alright. I'm just glad to see you're not dead." She smiled harmlessly.

L raised an eyebrow. _What made her hesitate? Is there something Raven hasn't told me? _L took the slightest glance at Raven who stood behind the Task Force members. He gave him a shrug as L stared in confusion.

* * *

_Those who are born without a soul and those who have it taken away are the only people who can see demons._

_Those who have their soul taken away, also have their lifespan set to zero, which means they no longer have a set date of death. Along with this, their names are removed from shinigami eyes. This is because shinigami can't see the names of those who have died._

_The only way a demon can die, is by crying._

_Though, demons are known to never show their true emotions, so that would be practically impossible._

* * *

"_Hello Ryuk." _Raven smirked at the shinigami that sat under the apple tree behind the hospital grounds.

"_Huh? Raven?"_

"_Did you miss me?" _He chuckled, crossing his arms and walking over to where the God of Death stood.

"_Why are you here? I haven't seen you ever since you stole a pair of my eyes." _Ryuk groaned. _"I'm still kind of mad about that by the way."_

Raven laughed. _"Don't worry my friend; they went to a good cause. I granted them to an orphan child."_

"_Well aren't you generous." _Ryuk grumbled. _"Why are you here?"_

"_Isn't it obvious? I'm bound to Ryuzaki." _Raven stated.

"_Oh, so you're the reason why I couldn't see his name." _Ryuk leant back against the bark of the tree.

"_Yes, it's true. When a human makes a deal with a demon, his lifespan is set to zero and his name is scratched from shinigami eyes." _Raven hummed. _"I see you're attached to that 'Misa Amane'. Her soul is…rather mixed…and bitter…I don't like her."_

"_It's only temporary." _Ryuk informed. _"I should be going back to Light soon…"_

"_Ah, I see…so Light Yagami is involved in this as well…this is getting rather interesting."_

"_Hey, can I let you in on a secret?" _Ryuk asked. Raven crossed his arms over his chest. _"If you promise not to tell, that is."_

"_I won't…probably won't anyway."_

"_Light Yagami is Kira, the man Ryuzaki is hunting." _

Raven's beady red eyes widened to excess as he grinned a bright white smile. _"Is that so…how interesting."_

"_You'd better stick around Raven. Don't want to miss the fun, do you?"_

Raven clicked his gloved fingers and smiled. _"I wouldn't dream of it." _He said as he walked through the wall of the hospital back to Ryuzaki's room.

* * *

_Unless you were born without a soul, or have had it taken from you, then you couldn't possibly see a demon…_

_No one knows how or why some people are born soulless. They say it's a strange form of dysfunction. I have only known of one man who was born without a soul. I found him wondering the streets of Winchester. To this very day, I can still remember the smile he drew as I stared at the bondless human._

_I grew to care for the child…which is something a demon must never do. It came to a point where I spent more time in the human world than I did my own…when he reached about the age of twelve he began asking me about Gods of Death. I told him of the eyes and how they allow you to see a man/woman's true name and lifespan. The child had asked me if I could grant him the eyes…_

…_which I did._

_A few years before, I had stolen a set of eyes from the shinigami realm as a joke. Since I can already see a human's lifespan, I had no use for them. The child had thanked me and had promised he'd return the favour someday._

_He died within an asylum…I watched as he slowly shrivelled into nothing. He'd become a murderer…a man of madness…I remember the look upon his blood-stained face as the light faded from his frozen ruby eyes…and just like that, I'd lost the child I had once loved…this is why demons cannot value human life forms…it's a simple matter of death that must forever separate our races…_

…_loosing that child had done something to me…it made me stronger._

…_People who live without a soul are cursed with bitterness and despair. They are destined to die a sad and lonely death. They lose their true meaning…they walk without a purpose._

_Even you, Lawliet, shall meet your painful fate, for once the wine runs dry you'll be left with an empty glass, with nothing but the haunting memories to comfort you._

_Your soul for your life, it makes no sense, for without your soul, you practically have no life._

* * *

"You couldn't see his name?" Light questioned. Misa nodded vigorously.

"I'm sorry light!" She sobbed. "I tried, but-but, there was nothing there! I swear, I couldn't see it!" She began to cry like a little girl and Light huffed with pure frustration.

"How can this happen? How did L…is it because Ryuzaki died?" Light questioned

"_Actually it's a little more complicated than that." _Ryuk cackled from the corner of the room like a devil. Light turned to the God of death with a look of bitterness in his eye. _"The only way a human can escape the fate of the death note, is by coming into contact with a demon." _Light's eyes widened and he grit his teeth. _"L sold his soul to a demon in exchange for his life back. That's the only way someone could possibly be saved from the death note. Since l has technically died once before, it means you will never be able to see his real name, unless you manage to kill the demon holding his name captive."_

"And you only thought to tell me NOW?!" Light exclaimed. _Damn it…with L under the protection of a 'demon', it'll be practically impossible to get his name._

_This can only mean one thing…I'll have to kill the demon…somehow…_

**To be continued (Maybe, still deciding)**


End file.
